Phrasal Verbs Rules

Phrasal Verbs and other multi-word verbs

Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called "multi-word verbs". Phrasal verbs
and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. Multi-word
verbs, including phrasal verbs, are very common, especially in spoken English. A multiword verb is a verb like "pick up", "turn on" or "get on with". For convenience, many
people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb +
another word or words. The other word(s) can be prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or
three words that make up multi-word verbs form a short "phrase" - which is why these
verbs are often all called "phrasal verbs".
The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb.
"Get up", is also a verb, a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different verbs. They
do not have the same meaning. So you should treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb,
and learn it like any other verb. Look at these examples. You can see that there are three
types of multi-word verb:
single-word verb

look

direct your eyes in a

certain direction

You must look before

you leap.

multiword
verbs

prepositional
verbs

look after

take care of

Who is looking after

the baby?

phrasal verbs

look up

search for and find

information in a
reference book

You can look up my

number in the
telephone directory.

phrasalprepositional
verbs

look
forward
to

anticipate with
pleasure

I look forward to
meeting you.

Like many grammar books, we divide multi-word verbs into:

prepositional verbs
phrasal verbs
phrasal-prepositional verbs

Other grammars, however, call all multi-word verbs "phrasal verbs".

Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or
words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make
a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs
and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal verbs proper.

Phrasal verbs are made of:

verb + adverb
Phrasal verbs can be:

intransitive (no direct object)

transitive (direct object)

Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:

examples

phrasal
verbs

meaning

intransitive
phrasal
verbs

get up

rise from bed

I don't like to get up.

break
down

cease to
function

He was late because his car

broke down.

transitive
phrasal
verbs

put off

postpone

We will have to put off

the
meeting.

turn down

refuse

They turned down

my offer.

direct
object

Separable Phrasal Verbs

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually
separate the two parts. For example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can say:
"turn down my offer" or "turn my offer down". Look at this table:

transitive phrasal verbs are

separable

They

turned

They

turned

down
my offer

my offer.

down.

However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the
phrasal verb and insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the
separable phrasal verb "switch on":
direct

John switched

on

the radio.

These are all possible.

object
pronouns
must go
between
the two
parts of
transitive
phrasal
verbs

John switched

the radio

on.

John switched

it

on.

John switched

on

it.

This is not possible.

Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs? Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are
separable. If a dictionary writes "look (something) up", you know that the phrasal verb
"look up" is separable, and you can say "look something up" and "look up something". It's a
good idea to write "something/somebody" as appropriate in your vocabulary book when
you learn a new phrasal verb, like this:

get up
break down
put something/somebody off
turn sthg/sby down

This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or
words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make
a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs
and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at prepositional verbs.
Prepositional verbs are made of:
verb + preposition
Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects.
Here are some examples of prepositional verbs:
examples

prepositional verbs

meaning

believe in

have faith in the existence of I believe in

direct object
God.

look after

take care of

He is looking after

the dog.

talk about

discuss

Did you talk about me?

wait for

await

John is waiting for

Mary.

Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that we cannot put the direct object
between the two parts. For example, we must say "look after the baby". We cannot say
"look the baby after":
prepositional verbs are

inseparable

Who is looking after the

baby?

This is possible.

Who is looking the baby

after?

This is not
possible.

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a
new prepositional verb, like this:

believe in something/somebody
look after sthg/sby

This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus
another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On
these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional
verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasalprepositional verbs.
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of:
verb + adverb + preposition
Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:

phrasal-prepositional
verbs

examples
meaning

direct
object

get on with

have a friendly
relationship with

He doesn't get on
with

his wife.

put up with

tolerate

I won't put up
with

your
attitude.

look forward to

anticipate with pleasure

I look forward to

seeing you.

run out of

use up, exhaust

We have run out

of

eggs.

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there is always a direct object.
And, like prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be separated. Look at
these examples:

phrasal-prepositional verbs are

inseparable

We

ran out of

fuel.

We

ran out of

it.